Students Campaign to Register Every Medical Student in the Country to Vote

Providence, RI (6/27/16) – Citizen Physicians, a non-partisan organization dedicated to training future healthcare providers in effective civic engagement, has launched the National Medical Student Voter Registration Campaign (NMSVRC), an initiative to get every medical student in the country registered to vote in time for the November 8th election.

Aaron Shapiro, Executive Director and Founder of Citizen Physicians, said, “We’re working to become the ‘Rock the Vote’ of the healthcare community and get a voter registration initiative in every medical school across the country. We already have students from thirty medical schools signed up and more students are joining us every week.”

Medical students participating in the campaign commit to hosting a voter registration and information table during the first few weeks of the coming academic year, specifically targeting incoming first year students. Shapiro, a medical student at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University, continued, “Our goal is to send a strong message to medical professionals -- starting on day one of medical school orientation -- that doctors, just like every other American citizen, have a civic responsibility to vote. Politicians make critical decisions that dramatically affect our patients and how we practice medicine. It’s our responsibility to be informed citizens when we step into that ballot box.”

Andreas Mitchell, founding President of the Citizen Physicians chapter at Harvard added: “Our patients' health, as well as our own, is affected by policy decisions that are happening before our eyes. As the second Citizen Physicians chapter, we look forward to helping grow the movement to engage medical professionals in their communities.” Kaylie Miller, co-president of Citizen Physicians’ newest chapter at University of Maryland, Baltimore said that despite the rigor of medical school, she and her classmates were enthusiastic about “engaging in the political process that will affect our future patients.”

Medical students who organize a voter registration and information table at their school receive a Citizen Physicians lapel pin for their white coat to signify their appreciation for the responsibility physicians have to be informed voters and civically engaged. Students can sign up to participate at www.citizenphysicians.org/nmsvrc.html

About Citizen Physicians Citizen Physicians is a start-up organization with a non-partisan, non-issue-based mission to train future healthcare providers in effective civic engagement. Our goal is that every graduating healthcare practitioner feels competent in their ability to access governmental systems both as individual citizens and as healthcare providers who care for diverse patient populations. We currently have four chapters of Citizen Physicians: Alpert Medical School of Brown University (founding chapter), Harvard Medical School, Pritzker School of Medicine at University of Chicago, and University of Maryland in Baltimore.

Medical schools currently participating in the National Medical Student Voter Registration Campaign include:

Alpert Medical School of Brown UniversityBaylor College of MedicineCase Western Reserve School of MedicineCentral Michigan University College of MedicineCreighton University School of MedicineDrexel University College of MedicineHarvard Medical SchoolHoward University School of MedicineKeck School of MedicineLoma Linda University School of MedicineLoyola Stritch School of MedicineMercer University School of MedicineNew York Medical CollegeOakland University William Beaumont School of MedicinePhiladelphia College of Osteopathic MedicinePritzker School of Medicine, University of ChicagoRush Medical CollegeStony Brook University School of MedicineTouro College of Osteopathic MedicineUniversity of Arizona College of MedicineUniversity of California Irvine School of MedicineUniversity of California Riverside School of MedicineUniversity of Cincinnati College of MedicineUniversity of Illinois at ChicagoUniversity of Maryland, BaltimoreUniversity of Minnesota-Twin Cities Medical SchoolUniversity of Mississippi School of MedicineUniversity of Texas Health Science Center School of MedicineWestern Michigan University Homer Stryker School of MedicineWright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine